The partying and celebrating in the traditional Guyanese style are over

and we are back to square one,that is, we have to get back to business in our continued efforts to build on the achievements which we made last year.
During 2012 we have had a fair degree of success, but if certain obstacles did not get in the way there would have been greater success. Our economy continued its robust growth for which we received accolades from major international financial institutions including the IMF. Agricultural production continued its growth even though the sugar target was not met, mainly due to inclement weather .But rice production soared to another record-breaking level with some 420,000 tonnes of rice surpassing last year’s production of 412,000 tonnes. Gold production also reached record-breaking levels. There were significant improvements in the education and health sectors. With respect to the latter, plans are moving apace for the construction of the specialty hospital with support from India.
And after some delay more funds under the LCDS agreement have been released which would further enhance development in the hinterland where already hundreds of households have received solar panels and therefore can now have access to electricity and enjoy the benefits of electrical appliances and equipment.
So on many fronts it has been a good year, but there are several challenges we need to deal with in a decisive and expeditious manner.
The parliamentary opposition continues unfortunately to use its combined one-seat majority to hold the government and people of this country to ransom and stall the developmental process; and this is an ominous sign, especially in light of the fact that  presentation of the national budget is imminent.
Most Guyanese are anxious to know what stance the parliamentary opposition would take. Would it reject the budget or would it take a patriotic position and work out an amicable relationship with the government so that the country can continue to move forward? It is anyone’s guess, but if it adopts the former position, then we will be in an extremely difficult situation in which the only option might be to call fresh elections which would be a waste of valuable financial and other resources. One would hope that good sense will prevail among the opposition parties and we would not have to go down this path.
President Donald Ramotar in his New Year’s message correctly pointed out:
“I had hoped that with the new configuration in Parliament, we would have had more cooperation and engagement.  In fact, I was quite hopeful, and had mentioned in my swearing-in speech my willingness to work with the other political parties in Parliament.
“Unfortunately, this was not to be.  Instead, what all of us have observed is that the National Assembly has been transformed into an arena where the main objective and obsession of the opposition are to score partisan political points counter to our national interests.  It is now in such a state, that unconstitutional motions are being regularly taken to Parliament.
“In defence of the rule of law and the Constitution, we have had to resort to going to the courts.  In fact, it is these same misguided positions and actions that led to some citizens being harassed and abused in Agricola, and the unfortunate loss of lives in Linden.
“Clearly, we need more dialogue and discussions in our society.  History has shown that a nation’s all-round progress is always enhanced when honest debates, dialogue and compromise are the tools used in the body politic.”
Surely, we need more dialogue, discussion and compromise but unfortunately the opposition is not demonstrating a willingness to do so. On the contrary, it has been flexing its muscles. But all Guyanese would hope wisdom will prevail and the opposition would change its current course.
We also need to get on top of the crime situation because the last year has seen some terrible robberies and killings. On this note it is most encouraging to learn of some of the new initiatives that will be pursued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in its continued efforts to curb crime.
Traffic accidents continue to be one of great alarm as we have far too many accidents on our roads, particularly fatal ones. And therefore we need to take steps which will result in drastically reducing the number of road accidents.
The deplorable state of Georgetown is another headache which has to be fixed as the situation clearly is untenable and residents are totally fed up with the manner in which this capital city is being managed and administered..
One would also hope that long overdue local government elections would be held this year which would lead to the vitally needed resuscitation of the municipalities and NDCs.
Lastly but not least is the need to arrest a general lawlessness which has enveloped every segment of our society, as no matter how great is our economic advancement true development will be retarded without  law- abiding and morally upright citizens.